The Turian Hierarchy
22-05-2008, 16:37
Captain Velin Zukarnak was the commanding officer of the turian dreadnought 'Gliding Talon', the last surviving dreadnought in a small fleet that used to have over thirty-six of the multi-kilometre behemoths. The Talon had been present at the final battle of the Unification War five years ago, and it was Captain Zukarnak's final order of the battle that ended the whole thing. Little did he know that he was firing the last shot of a brutal civil war, but that single projectile had inadvertently destroyed the base which, unbeknownst to the loyalist forces, contained the chieftain who was leading the last remaining faction. With their leader dead, the rebels renewed their vows of allegiance to the Hierarchy and the war was finally over.
The effects of the war were not, however. Indeed, they continued to sting the Hierarchy to this day. The navy had been absolutely decimated by the war, with the overwhelming majority of their forces destroyed in combat. The Talon, three cruisers, and half a dozen frigates were all that remained of the once-mighty Turian Navy. Worse still, all of their freighters had been destroyed by attrition tactics utilised by the rebels, precluding their ability to bring resources back to the homeworld to build more ships.
On Palaven itself, poverty and starvation were beginning to take hold as the turian economy plunged into the abyss. Without raw materials from their mining colonies, and with the few remaining ores on Palaven being too difficult to extract, things were looking bleak indeed and until lately they didn't look to be getting better any time soon. The volus, a client race of the turians who brought economic savvy to the Hierarchy in exchange for the protection afforded to them by the once-mighty Turian Combined Army, were threatening to break from their centuries-old arrangement and leave the turians to fend for themselves. Volus representatives felt they were no longer being granted the protection they were originally promised in the wake of the war, and Zukarnak could understand their point of view.
A single dreadnought was now tasked with the protection of the entire Turian Hierarchy, an empire which was collapsing in on itself through a combination of population decreases, political squabbling and resource shortages. Lone frigates were forced to patrol the outer reaches of Hierarchy space, and the Talon remained in orbit of Palaven on permanent call in case they signalled for help. No wonder the volus felt a little cheated by the current circumstances. This arrangement left the Talon without shoreleave, without refits, and she was beginning to show her fatigue. System failures were now being reported across the board, which wasn't a great situation for the last defender of an entire civilisation to be in. Zukarnak had no doubts in his mind that the turians under his command would do their duty, and do it well, in spite of the unrelenting pressure they had been placed under, but the Talon was a machine - it needed maintenance, and it wasn't getting any.
Her harsh, strangely elegant form presently cruised towards the homeworld at a leisurely pace, the blue-brown world growing ever-larger on the holographic displays. Her hull was brimming with weapons, from the blade-like swept-back wings to the space around her fusion engine ports, but half of them didn't work or lacked ammunition. Most worryingly, several of the shield generators had failed, leaving gaps in her defences.
But Zukarnak hoped that all of this was about to change. The fortunes of the Hierarchy were about to change, hopefully for the better.
Using freighters supplied to the Hierarchy by an Allanean company called the Nivensky-Ringworld Foundation, resources were starting to be shipped into Palaven again. Both of their major mining colonies had built up a backlog over the last few years, and so they were shipping it to the homeworld as fast as they possibly could. This wouldn't immediately solve the poverty and starvation issues, of course, but it did mean that their industry could be kick-started again. For the moment the government had focused all efforts on using the resources building a new fleet of freighters to further bolster the economy, but some of the raw materials were being diverted to another project.
The one which the Talon was headed for - her new base of operations, and what the government hoped would be the salvation of the turian economy.
Starbase Virmire.
A sprawling facility several orders of magnitude larger than Talon, the starbase was built around a huge torus ring centre with a multitude of snaking tendrils emerging from it - forming a star shape, with many points. Many of these tendrils were docking arms designed to accommodate ships as large as the Talon or even bigger, while others were intended to be office blocks like skyscrapers in space, as well as headquarters for various turian departments - including the Navy. The torus itself was completely enclosed, with a number of spokes through the centre that lead to a central structure that represented the main control centre for the entire station.
Considering how little time they had to build the megastructure, Zukarnak was greatly impressed. It was a testament to turian technology and engineering, and showed that despite their dire predicament, the turian people still had some fight and discipline left in them yet.
"Virmire control this is Gliding Talon, requesting permission to dock," one of Zukarnak's lieutenants stirred his thoughts with his docking request, and the Captain quickly snapped back to life. He walked over to the long, straight control console at the front of the bridge and took a look at some of the readings. He'd never actually seen the schematics of the thing himself, but judging from their sensor readings it was even larger than he'd thought.
"Gliding Talon this is Virmire control," came a response through the speakers. Unlike so many of the speakers in the galaxy these days, turian devices didn't really distort the voice of the person on the other end - it sounded as though they were standing right next to you. "Welcome home. Your request to dock has been granted. Please proceed to Docking Tendril 24. Virmire control out."
"How many tendrils does that thing have, anyway?" Lieutenant Opus Larak asked. Normally very disciplined and professional while on duty, Zukarnak allowed him a little leeway during their first glimpse at the new station.
"I counted sixty," Zukarnak answered him, forgoing command structure and engaging in a little informal banter for the occasion. "I never was good at counting though."
"It's amazing how quickly they built it," Larak said. "It's only been a year and a half."
"Never underestimate the power of VIs, robotic labourers, and turian discipline," Zukarnak told him knowingly.
"We're approaching the docking tendril now," the Lieutenant said, changing the subject rather abruptly as he returned to 'work mode'. "Going to condition blue for docking."
A series of blue lights all around the bridge bathed the room and everybody in it in a soft blue glow. The ship slowed down as her fusion engines cut off and she drifted towards the enormous appendage of Virmire station, using her thrusters to gradually reduce her momentum. As the considerably sized vessel slowly approached the docking tendril, the appendage moved to clasp Talon's side and pulled her closer in. Talon's engines shut down and she came to rest, moored safely with the station.
"We're docked!" the Lieutenant called out. Docking was always a tense procedure, even with the computer's VI taking control of most of the functions. One slight miscalculation could cause a devastating crash, costing lives and seriously damaging both the dock and the ship simultaneously. Fortunately such things were very rare in this day and age, and both the Lieutenant and the Captain had been convinced that nothing would go wrong.
Exiting the ship and entering a rotating elevator, the lift rocketed them down the docking tendril and rotated them around to match the plane of gravity within the torus ring at the centre. Within a couple of minutes they emerged into the main promenade. They were greeted with an impressive sight; walkways criss-crossed a series of artificial rivers, and lush trees rose from small islands dotted around it. High above them was an artificial sky, illuminating them with a make-believe sun that, although lacking the warmth of the real sun, looked just like it. Zukarnak had heard that as the hours ticked by, the sky above would change to match the sky as seen from the capital city, even going dark at night and projecting real star constellations. Looking on to the 'horizon' one could see the floor curving off above them as they walked on the outer surface of the ring section of the station.
The promenade was more-or-less empty for the moment, with only maintenance teams and drones buzzing around making last-minute alterations and additions. Zukarnak couldn't wait to see what would happen once the station was officially opened for business - shops would open, businesses would set up storefronts and booths, tourists would flock in and fill the soft white metal platforms... or at least, that was the hope. There was even an embassy district somewhere on the other side of the ring, where the Hierarchy had already opened an outpost ready for the influx.
"Wow," Larak exclaimed simply, after a large period of silent awe.
"One of the largest engineering projects ever undertaken by our people, and all you can say is 'wow'?" commented Lieutenant Commander Perok Kasvegen, executive officer of the Talon who'd decided to tag along.
"Well... yes," Larak shrugged. "If you can think of a better word to describe it, sir, I'll use that instead."
"I'll let you know," Kasvegen sighed.
"Ah! There you are!" came a muffled, slightly mechanical voice. They turned around to see a volus in a typical environmental suit crossing a bridge and waddling over towards them. Despite only being classed as a civilian in the social hierarchy, this volus had been appointed the executive officer of the entire Virmire project, and judging by the tone of his voice he was letting it get to his head a little.
"Assistant Administrator," Zukarnak said in his metallic voice, nodding his head a little. "The Talon has docked. You're going to get your first visitors soon - my crew needs shore leave."
"Of course, of course," the volus nodded. "I'm afraid there will be little to entertain them during their stay, however, until we are open for business."
"I'm sure just getting out of the ship for a while will be enough," Zukarnak said. "Besides, if I understand correctly this station won't be empty for much longer."
"Oh no, not at all," the volus shook his stumpy head. Their breathing masks tended to get on Zukarnak's nerves after a while, but he would probably like listening to them choke to death on their atmosphere even less. "Haliat Armory is already establishing a trading office further down the promenade. They have been given an early start in return for the investments they have made in this project. The opening announcement should be made by the government in the next few hours I believe. We are hoping for quite a few foreign visitors to be present there."
"I'll have to keep our comm system tuned into it," Zukarnak nodded.
"Oh no need, the Hierarch is aboard - he will be making the speech on that very bridge!" the volus said excitedly, pointing at the bridge he'd just crossed with one of his stumpy arms. "We've had to set the sky to permanent daylight for the moment though, as it will be night by then."
"Well, we shall keep out of your way," Zukarnak said, gesturing down the promenade. "I'll signal my crew that they can come on over. We are just going to take a look around."
"Oh fine, fine!" the volus nodded. "Please don't tread on the grass."
"I don't see any signs..." Larak said, glancing around.
"Don't tread on the grass!" the volus repeated, snapping a little. "Good day."
The volus nodded to them and waddled back off over the bridge, disappearing into one of the 'buildings' on the other side of the river and leaving some rather startled turian officers in his wake.
"He really likes the grass, doesn't he?" Larak said after a while.
"Alright, you two are dismissed," Zukarnak said. "I'll see you later at the ceremony."
***
Quite a crowd had gathered on the platforms on either side of the bridge. Certain high-ranking personnel who had been working on the project were there, along with several members of the Talon's crew, including the Captain and the Lieutenant. There were numerous Officers from the Hierarchy government present too, though for somewhat obvious reasons they stood closer to the event. Zukarnak could even make out several aliens from foreign nations, although he didn't recognise many of them - the Hierarchy had been fairly isolated for a long time until recently.
On the bridge stood the Hierarch himself, flanked on either side by the Officer of War, Illus Fenarin, and the Officer of Relations, Garrus Makertan. Blocking off either side of the bridge were pairs of turian commandos, donned in their ceremonial black-and-red armour with all its gloss and clutching assault rifles - not that they'd be needed. Just ahead of the Hierarch a pair of floating robocams hovered around, shining down lights on him and aiming their cameras towards him. Their footage would be broadcast to Palaven, the rest of Hierarchy space, and beyond, between stars and galaxies, for anybody to see and hear.
"Greetings fellow turians, and our volus friends!" the Hierarch called out, his deep, metallic voice echoing across the promenade. "I am the Hierarch of the Turian Hierarchy, for those who don't know. It is my honour and duty to lead the turian people into an age of prosperity, security and strength.
"To that end, this government commissioned Project Virmire!"
He was met with muted applause from the members of the team who'd worked on it, along with some of the government Officers gathered at the sides of the bridge. He glanced around with a raised brow for a moment.
"And I am impressed with the hard work that has gone into this project," the Hierarch continued. "It is a testament to our people! To our ingenuity! To our discipline! And you should all be proud of what you have accomplished here!
"Virmire Station is hoped to become a new economical hub for the Hierarchy. We hope that businesses from turian space and well beyond will find a successful home here, and that tourists from all around the universe will journey here to experience all that Virmire has to offer. Companies may set up shops, or use Virmire as a hub to deal with other companies, and this will hopefully put a swift end to the economic problems the Hierarchy continues to suffer from!
"And so, without further ado," the Hierarch pulled out a bottle of thick, brown liquid, and held it above his head. "I now declare this station open for business!"
With that, he brought the bottle down fast and hard, smashing it against the railing of the bridge and spilling its contents into the flowing river below. The crowd that had gathered erupted into applause.
"If all present would like to move further down the promenade for the main reception, a selection of refreshments have been prepared. I hope to see you all momentarily."
(OOC: Virmire Station is a commercial entity owned joinly by Haliat Armoury, its main invester, and several other major corporations on Palaven. If you want to join in, you can roleplay your characters arriving, boarding and attending the event and we can go from there. There are embassies, stores and offices available for rental all across the station, from which your ambassadors and companies can eventually conduct their business.)
The effects of the war were not, however. Indeed, they continued to sting the Hierarchy to this day. The navy had been absolutely decimated by the war, with the overwhelming majority of their forces destroyed in combat. The Talon, three cruisers, and half a dozen frigates were all that remained of the once-mighty Turian Navy. Worse still, all of their freighters had been destroyed by attrition tactics utilised by the rebels, precluding their ability to bring resources back to the homeworld to build more ships.
On Palaven itself, poverty and starvation were beginning to take hold as the turian economy plunged into the abyss. Without raw materials from their mining colonies, and with the few remaining ores on Palaven being too difficult to extract, things were looking bleak indeed and until lately they didn't look to be getting better any time soon. The volus, a client race of the turians who brought economic savvy to the Hierarchy in exchange for the protection afforded to them by the once-mighty Turian Combined Army, were threatening to break from their centuries-old arrangement and leave the turians to fend for themselves. Volus representatives felt they were no longer being granted the protection they were originally promised in the wake of the war, and Zukarnak could understand their point of view.
A single dreadnought was now tasked with the protection of the entire Turian Hierarchy, an empire which was collapsing in on itself through a combination of population decreases, political squabbling and resource shortages. Lone frigates were forced to patrol the outer reaches of Hierarchy space, and the Talon remained in orbit of Palaven on permanent call in case they signalled for help. No wonder the volus felt a little cheated by the current circumstances. This arrangement left the Talon without shoreleave, without refits, and she was beginning to show her fatigue. System failures were now being reported across the board, which wasn't a great situation for the last defender of an entire civilisation to be in. Zukarnak had no doubts in his mind that the turians under his command would do their duty, and do it well, in spite of the unrelenting pressure they had been placed under, but the Talon was a machine - it needed maintenance, and it wasn't getting any.
Her harsh, strangely elegant form presently cruised towards the homeworld at a leisurely pace, the blue-brown world growing ever-larger on the holographic displays. Her hull was brimming with weapons, from the blade-like swept-back wings to the space around her fusion engine ports, but half of them didn't work or lacked ammunition. Most worryingly, several of the shield generators had failed, leaving gaps in her defences.
But Zukarnak hoped that all of this was about to change. The fortunes of the Hierarchy were about to change, hopefully for the better.
Using freighters supplied to the Hierarchy by an Allanean company called the Nivensky-Ringworld Foundation, resources were starting to be shipped into Palaven again. Both of their major mining colonies had built up a backlog over the last few years, and so they were shipping it to the homeworld as fast as they possibly could. This wouldn't immediately solve the poverty and starvation issues, of course, but it did mean that their industry could be kick-started again. For the moment the government had focused all efforts on using the resources building a new fleet of freighters to further bolster the economy, but some of the raw materials were being diverted to another project.
The one which the Talon was headed for - her new base of operations, and what the government hoped would be the salvation of the turian economy.
Starbase Virmire.
A sprawling facility several orders of magnitude larger than Talon, the starbase was built around a huge torus ring centre with a multitude of snaking tendrils emerging from it - forming a star shape, with many points. Many of these tendrils were docking arms designed to accommodate ships as large as the Talon or even bigger, while others were intended to be office blocks like skyscrapers in space, as well as headquarters for various turian departments - including the Navy. The torus itself was completely enclosed, with a number of spokes through the centre that lead to a central structure that represented the main control centre for the entire station.
Considering how little time they had to build the megastructure, Zukarnak was greatly impressed. It was a testament to turian technology and engineering, and showed that despite their dire predicament, the turian people still had some fight and discipline left in them yet.
"Virmire control this is Gliding Talon, requesting permission to dock," one of Zukarnak's lieutenants stirred his thoughts with his docking request, and the Captain quickly snapped back to life. He walked over to the long, straight control console at the front of the bridge and took a look at some of the readings. He'd never actually seen the schematics of the thing himself, but judging from their sensor readings it was even larger than he'd thought.
"Gliding Talon this is Virmire control," came a response through the speakers. Unlike so many of the speakers in the galaxy these days, turian devices didn't really distort the voice of the person on the other end - it sounded as though they were standing right next to you. "Welcome home. Your request to dock has been granted. Please proceed to Docking Tendril 24. Virmire control out."
"How many tendrils does that thing have, anyway?" Lieutenant Opus Larak asked. Normally very disciplined and professional while on duty, Zukarnak allowed him a little leeway during their first glimpse at the new station.
"I counted sixty," Zukarnak answered him, forgoing command structure and engaging in a little informal banter for the occasion. "I never was good at counting though."
"It's amazing how quickly they built it," Larak said. "It's only been a year and a half."
"Never underestimate the power of VIs, robotic labourers, and turian discipline," Zukarnak told him knowingly.
"We're approaching the docking tendril now," the Lieutenant said, changing the subject rather abruptly as he returned to 'work mode'. "Going to condition blue for docking."
A series of blue lights all around the bridge bathed the room and everybody in it in a soft blue glow. The ship slowed down as her fusion engines cut off and she drifted towards the enormous appendage of Virmire station, using her thrusters to gradually reduce her momentum. As the considerably sized vessel slowly approached the docking tendril, the appendage moved to clasp Talon's side and pulled her closer in. Talon's engines shut down and she came to rest, moored safely with the station.
"We're docked!" the Lieutenant called out. Docking was always a tense procedure, even with the computer's VI taking control of most of the functions. One slight miscalculation could cause a devastating crash, costing lives and seriously damaging both the dock and the ship simultaneously. Fortunately such things were very rare in this day and age, and both the Lieutenant and the Captain had been convinced that nothing would go wrong.
Exiting the ship and entering a rotating elevator, the lift rocketed them down the docking tendril and rotated them around to match the plane of gravity within the torus ring at the centre. Within a couple of minutes they emerged into the main promenade. They were greeted with an impressive sight; walkways criss-crossed a series of artificial rivers, and lush trees rose from small islands dotted around it. High above them was an artificial sky, illuminating them with a make-believe sun that, although lacking the warmth of the real sun, looked just like it. Zukarnak had heard that as the hours ticked by, the sky above would change to match the sky as seen from the capital city, even going dark at night and projecting real star constellations. Looking on to the 'horizon' one could see the floor curving off above them as they walked on the outer surface of the ring section of the station.
The promenade was more-or-less empty for the moment, with only maintenance teams and drones buzzing around making last-minute alterations and additions. Zukarnak couldn't wait to see what would happen once the station was officially opened for business - shops would open, businesses would set up storefronts and booths, tourists would flock in and fill the soft white metal platforms... or at least, that was the hope. There was even an embassy district somewhere on the other side of the ring, where the Hierarchy had already opened an outpost ready for the influx.
"Wow," Larak exclaimed simply, after a large period of silent awe.
"One of the largest engineering projects ever undertaken by our people, and all you can say is 'wow'?" commented Lieutenant Commander Perok Kasvegen, executive officer of the Talon who'd decided to tag along.
"Well... yes," Larak shrugged. "If you can think of a better word to describe it, sir, I'll use that instead."
"I'll let you know," Kasvegen sighed.
"Ah! There you are!" came a muffled, slightly mechanical voice. They turned around to see a volus in a typical environmental suit crossing a bridge and waddling over towards them. Despite only being classed as a civilian in the social hierarchy, this volus had been appointed the executive officer of the entire Virmire project, and judging by the tone of his voice he was letting it get to his head a little.
"Assistant Administrator," Zukarnak said in his metallic voice, nodding his head a little. "The Talon has docked. You're going to get your first visitors soon - my crew needs shore leave."
"Of course, of course," the volus nodded. "I'm afraid there will be little to entertain them during their stay, however, until we are open for business."
"I'm sure just getting out of the ship for a while will be enough," Zukarnak said. "Besides, if I understand correctly this station won't be empty for much longer."
"Oh no, not at all," the volus shook his stumpy head. Their breathing masks tended to get on Zukarnak's nerves after a while, but he would probably like listening to them choke to death on their atmosphere even less. "Haliat Armory is already establishing a trading office further down the promenade. They have been given an early start in return for the investments they have made in this project. The opening announcement should be made by the government in the next few hours I believe. We are hoping for quite a few foreign visitors to be present there."
"I'll have to keep our comm system tuned into it," Zukarnak nodded.
"Oh no need, the Hierarch is aboard - he will be making the speech on that very bridge!" the volus said excitedly, pointing at the bridge he'd just crossed with one of his stumpy arms. "We've had to set the sky to permanent daylight for the moment though, as it will be night by then."
"Well, we shall keep out of your way," Zukarnak said, gesturing down the promenade. "I'll signal my crew that they can come on over. We are just going to take a look around."
"Oh fine, fine!" the volus nodded. "Please don't tread on the grass."
"I don't see any signs..." Larak said, glancing around.
"Don't tread on the grass!" the volus repeated, snapping a little. "Good day."
The volus nodded to them and waddled back off over the bridge, disappearing into one of the 'buildings' on the other side of the river and leaving some rather startled turian officers in his wake.
"He really likes the grass, doesn't he?" Larak said after a while.
"Alright, you two are dismissed," Zukarnak said. "I'll see you later at the ceremony."
***
Quite a crowd had gathered on the platforms on either side of the bridge. Certain high-ranking personnel who had been working on the project were there, along with several members of the Talon's crew, including the Captain and the Lieutenant. There were numerous Officers from the Hierarchy government present too, though for somewhat obvious reasons they stood closer to the event. Zukarnak could even make out several aliens from foreign nations, although he didn't recognise many of them - the Hierarchy had been fairly isolated for a long time until recently.
On the bridge stood the Hierarch himself, flanked on either side by the Officer of War, Illus Fenarin, and the Officer of Relations, Garrus Makertan. Blocking off either side of the bridge were pairs of turian commandos, donned in their ceremonial black-and-red armour with all its gloss and clutching assault rifles - not that they'd be needed. Just ahead of the Hierarch a pair of floating robocams hovered around, shining down lights on him and aiming their cameras towards him. Their footage would be broadcast to Palaven, the rest of Hierarchy space, and beyond, between stars and galaxies, for anybody to see and hear.
"Greetings fellow turians, and our volus friends!" the Hierarch called out, his deep, metallic voice echoing across the promenade. "I am the Hierarch of the Turian Hierarchy, for those who don't know. It is my honour and duty to lead the turian people into an age of prosperity, security and strength.
"To that end, this government commissioned Project Virmire!"
He was met with muted applause from the members of the team who'd worked on it, along with some of the government Officers gathered at the sides of the bridge. He glanced around with a raised brow for a moment.
"And I am impressed with the hard work that has gone into this project," the Hierarch continued. "It is a testament to our people! To our ingenuity! To our discipline! And you should all be proud of what you have accomplished here!
"Virmire Station is hoped to become a new economical hub for the Hierarchy. We hope that businesses from turian space and well beyond will find a successful home here, and that tourists from all around the universe will journey here to experience all that Virmire has to offer. Companies may set up shops, or use Virmire as a hub to deal with other companies, and this will hopefully put a swift end to the economic problems the Hierarchy continues to suffer from!
"And so, without further ado," the Hierarch pulled out a bottle of thick, brown liquid, and held it above his head. "I now declare this station open for business!"
With that, he brought the bottle down fast and hard, smashing it against the railing of the bridge and spilling its contents into the flowing river below. The crowd that had gathered erupted into applause.
"If all present would like to move further down the promenade for the main reception, a selection of refreshments have been prepared. I hope to see you all momentarily."
(OOC: Virmire Station is a commercial entity owned joinly by Haliat Armoury, its main invester, and several other major corporations on Palaven. If you want to join in, you can roleplay your characters arriving, boarding and attending the event and we can go from there. There are embassies, stores and offices available for rental all across the station, from which your ambassadors and companies can eventually conduct their business.)